Hospital Patient Safety Culture in Developing Countries: A Comparative Study in Ilam City, Iran.

Aims: In this study, patient safety culture was assessed in four educational hospitals in Ilam city, Iran. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was carried out in four educational hospitals (Imam Khomeini, Mustafa Khomeini, Taleghani and Kowsar hospitals) in Ilam city (Iran). Study Duration: The study was conducted over 2014. Methods: The data collection was conducted via the Iranian version of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire. The questionnaire contains 42 items that evaluates 12 dimensions of patient safety culture. Results: The results showed that 47% of the participants had 1- 5 years of work experience and 71.1% of them worked more than 40 hours per week in hospital. The mean positive answers score of the safety culture in this study was obtained 40% that was much lower than the benchmark (64%). The highest and lowest percentages of the positive answer were attributed to teamwork within units (70%) and non-punitive response to error (11%), respectively. Conclusion: In order to increase the patient safety culture in the hospitals, the number of professional staff should be increased and a practical plan about the patient safety culture should be provided. Moreover, the hospitals management should support the staff to report errors without fear of the punishment

Fault detection and diagnosis in a spacecraft Attitude Determination system

Spacecraft systems need increased on board autonomy to detect the occurred faults (e.g., faults in sensors and actuators), isolate the faulty components, and effectively handle their operation in the presence of such faults. In this research a scheme of fault detection and diagnosis is developed for spacecraft Attitude Determination (AD) sensors along with an algorithm for attitude determination. These together can provide a significant degree of autonomy since faults can be handled without ground interaction and intervention. The attitude determination system is a key component of the attitude control system of a spacecraft. Hence, improvements to its accuracy and reliability contribute directly to its performance and the success of the spacecraft mission. An integrated AD system that includes rate gyros and vector sensors (Sun sensor and magnetometer) is developed. Measurement data from all sensors are fused by utilizing a linearize Kalman filter, which is designed based on system kinematics, to provide attitude estimation and the values of gyro bias. The designed estimator is shown to provide more accurate estimates of the attitude angles than the measurements obtained directly from sensors. This results in the removal of erroneous sensor measurements, and prevents unbounded sensor measurement errors. Bias-free data are then used in the Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) scheme.Applied Science, Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, Department ofGraduat

A battery-less MEMS device for on-demand and controlled drug delivery

Drug therapy efficacy depends on therapeutic concentrations of drugs at disease sites. An ideal controlled and localized drug delivery system would deliver drugs to a target tissue and would locally maintain the required drug concentration. Furthermore, for many diseases, the delivery of therapeutic concentrations on an “on-demand” basis would be of tremendous benefit. In this thesis, a MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) based drug delivery device has been developed that provides on-demand release of defined drug quantities. The device consists of a drug-loaded microreservoir that is sealed with an elastic PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) magnetic membrane with a laser-drilled aperture. The drug release is triggered in the presence of an external magnetic field by deforming the magnetic membrane and therefore discharging the drug solution. The use of magnetic actuation for on-demand and controlled dose sequencing eliminates the need for an on-board power source. A new magnetic membrane material has been developed for the proposed drug delivery device. The polymeric magnetic composites were developed by incorporating coated iron oxide nanoparticles within a PDMS matrix. The new composites show improvement in reducing particle agglomeration compared to existing polymeric magnetic materials. Free-standing PDMS magnetic membranes with a thickness of 35 µm have been fabricated and have shown to deflect in applied magnetic fields. The MEMS drug delivery device has been used to deliver an antiproliferative, taxane-based drug, docetaxel (DTX). On-demand and controlled release of DTX with a dosage suitable for treatment of diabetic retinopathy has been achieved for 35 days. Biological activity of the released DTX was investigated two months after the drug was packaged in the device. These studies confirmed that the antiproliferative effect of DTX can be maintained for 2 months, and the drug does not degrade within the device. This device is a proof-of-concept development for on-demand and controlled delivery of taxane-based agents for treatment of proliferative retinopathy, which requires accurate delivery of nanomolar drug concentrations.Applied Science, Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, Department ofGraduat

Neuroprotective effect of berberine chloride on cognitive impairment and hippocampal damage in experimental model of vascular dementia

Objective(s):The major objective of the present study was to investigate the potential neuroprotective effect of berberine chloride on vascular dementia. Berberine, as an ancient medicine in China and India, is the main active component derived from the Berberis sp. Several studies have revealed the beneficial effects of berberine in various neurodegenerative disorders. Materials and Methods: To induce vascular dementia, chronic bilateral common carotid artery occlusion was performed on male Wistar rats. After surgery, the rats were treated daily by oral administration of berberine chloride (50 mg/kg) for two months. The cognition function of treated rats, were evaluated by Morris Water Maze (MWM) test. In addition, Nissl and TUNEL staining were chosen to assess neuronal damage within the hippocampal CA1 area. Results: It was obvious that chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH), caused cognitive impairment and neuronal damages within CA1 hippocampal subregion. Berberine chloride was able to prevent cognitive deficits, (